Overview
- The 350 kg-class expendable turbojet was delivered to DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment after being handed over by Azad Engineering on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
- DRDO’s GTRE designed the engine and Hyderabad-based Azad Engineering manufactured and assembled the realised unit, with senior DRDO officials publicly congratulating the project team.
- The engine is intended for expendable platforms such as subsonic cruise missiles and target or loitering drones, and DRDO sources say it is less powerful than the 450 kg-class small turbofan being developed for the LR-LACM.
- The ministry emphasized that building such engines requires advanced metallurgy and precision manufacture, and the delivery indicates domestic firms can meet those strict standards for small jet powerplants.
- Private Indian firms are also developing compact jet engines and the new turbojet follows recent deliveries of jet-powered loitering munitions to the Army, a combination that could cut import needs and expand faster, harder-to-intercept strike options.